Backpacking Alaska's Kesugi Ridge Trail in Denali State Park

In 2004, I participated in a Sierra Club outing -- two weeks in Alaska, which included a backpack trip into the wilderness of Denali State Park.  Groups of our large size are not allowed to backpack in Denali National Park, so our Sierra Club group backpacked across the road in Denali State Park, which offered much the same topography, flora, and fauna as the national park, as well as magnificent views of Mt. McKinley.

Denali State Park is located an hour south of Denali National Park and straddles both sides of Alaska Highway 3 (Parks Highway). Established in 1970 and enlarged to 325,240 acres in 1976, it is almost the size of Rhode Island and is located about 160 miles north of Anchorage and 160 miles south of Fairbanks. Its western boundary is Denali National Park. Mount McKinley (20,320 feet), the highest summit on North America, is 35 miles away. 

We began at the Ermine Hill Trailhead, where we first headed through lush forest and then began out uphill trek to the ridge...

...where we  reached the Kesugi Ridge Trail, part of a 35 mile-long north/south alpine ridge which is the backbone of the eastern half of the park. "Kesugi" is a Tanaina Indian dialect word meaning "The Ancient One" and is a fitting complement of the Tanana Indian word "Denali" which means "The High One" referring to the mountain we now call McKinley. 

You can get a feel for the openness once atop the ridge, with its huge views...

Camp was set up on the tundra, a soft thick mat that was quite comfortable to sleep upon...

It was nice to find this large bolder to use as a table our first night...

Pretty obvious what brings the smiles to our faces with views like this!

As well as views of Mt. Denali/McKinley just 35 miles to the west...

What goes up, must go down.  Three times, in fact, the ridge trail hit gullies requiring us to descend... 

... cross boulder-filled gullies, and then hike back up to the ridge.  And you can see from our rain gear and the covers on our backpacks, that we had some rain, making the boulders even more slippery and treacherous.

Wildlife in the park include moose, brown and black bears, caribou, lynx, coyote, red fox, squirrel, ermine, marten, land otter, mink, wolverine, muskrat, pika, marmot, vole, shrew, porcupine, and 130 species of birds. Fish include all five species of salmon, as well as Dolly Varden, whitefish, and various trout. White spruce and paper birch predominate below 2500 feet elevation. Above 2500 feet, moss campion, mountain avens, and other hardy flowering plants thrive. Tundra meadows, cotton grass tussocks, dense birch-adler-willow thickets, black spruce stands, and black cottonwood thrive.  Edible berries abound and include blueberries. cranberries, currents, watermelon berries, crowberries, and cloudberries. 

The weather in the park is tempered from continental extremes by the relatively warm ocean waters 100 miles to the south. The Alaska Range to the north protects the park from the dramatic temperature extremes common to Interior Alaska. In summer, temperatures are usually in the 60's with highs, rarely, to 85 degrees F. In mid-summer, almost 21 hours of possible daylight give ample opportunities for recreational activities. Average winter highs range from zero to 30 degrees F, while on extremely cold days the low may reach minus 40 degrees F. Annual precipitation reaches 30 inches, including an average annual 180 inches of snowfall. Snow begins to accumulate in October and frequently reaches depths of six feet or more. 

 MORE INFO: Denali State Park - Alaska State Parks website

Video of our 2 week Alaskan Sierra Club Outing: